CHAPTER 19
God commands Nephi to make another set of plates--Everything he writes on the plates is sacred--His plates may have some errors, but no more than
the Bible does--Nephi repeats previous prophecies--Zenock, Neum, and Zenos were prophets that the Catholic church removed from the Bible--God
will punish the Jews for crucifying Jesus--Nephi will include some chapters from Isaiah in his plates. (588-570 BCE)
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The plates of ore (and the other plates)
19:1-7
1And it came to pass that the Lord commanded me,
wherefore I did make plates of ore that I might engraven upon them the record of my people.
And upon the plates which I made I did engraven the record of my father, and also our journeyings in the wilderness, and the prophecies of my father; and also many of mine own
prophecies have I engraven upon them.
2 And I knew not at the time when I made them that I should be
commanded of the Lord to make these plates; wherefore, the record of my father, and the
genealogy of his fathers, and the more part of all our proceedings in the wilderness are
engraven upon those first plates of which I have spoken; wherefore, the things which
transpired before I made these plates are, of a truth, more particularly made mention upon
the first plates.
3 And after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi,
received a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious
parts of them, should be written upon these plates; and that the things which were written
should be kept for the instruction of my people, who should possess the land, and also for
other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord.
The Lord commanded me to make plates of ore to record the more plain and precious parts of the history of my people,
our travels in the wilderness, as well as my prophecies and those of my father. [1]
4 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did make a record upon the other plates, which
gives an account, or which gives a greater account of the wars and contentions and
destructions of my people. And this have I done, and commanded my people what they should
do after I was gone; and that these plates should be handed down from one generation to
another, or from one prophet to another, until further commandments of the Lord.
5 And an account of my making these plates shall be given hereafter; and
then, behold, I proceed according to that which I have spoken; and this I do that the more
sacred things may be kept for the knowledge of my people.
I made a more detailed account in some other plates.
6 Nevertheless, I do not write anything
upon plates save it be that I think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even did they err
of old; not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but because of the weakness
which is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself.
7 For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the
body and soul, others set at naught and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God
of Israel do men trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I would
speak in other words -- they set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his
counsels.
I'm only writing in these plates the things that I think are sacred,
although there may be a few mistakes, just like there are in the older scriptures. [2]
The prophecies of Zenock, Neum, and Zenos
8 And behold he cometh, according to the words of the angel, in six
hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem.
9 And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a
thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and
he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving
kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.
The angel said he (Jesus?) will come 600 years after my father left Jerusalem.
10 And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage,
and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man,
into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of
Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre, according to
the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should be
a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more
especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel.
According to Zenock, Neum, and Zenos [3], there will be three days of darkness after he is crucified
as a sign to those who live on islands.
11 For thus spake the prophet: The Lord God surely shall visit all the
house of Israel at that day, some with his voice, because of their righteousness, unto
their great joy and salvation, and others with the thunderings and the lightnings of his
power, by tempest, by fire, and by smoke, and vapor of darkness, and by the opening of
the earth, and by mountains which shall be carried up.
God will visit people on that day with his voice, thunder, lightning, tempest, fire, smoke, vapor of darkness,
opening the earth, and carrying away mountains. [4]
12 And all these things must surely come, saith the prophet Zenos. And
the rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the
kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The
God of nature suffers.
Zenos said that rocks will split and the earth groan.
And the Spirit of God will make many island kings say,
The God of nature suffers.
13 And as for those who are at Jerusalem,
saith the prophet, they shall be scourged by all people, because they crucify the God of
Israel, and turn their hearts aside, rejecting signs and wonders, and the power and glory
of the God of Israel.
14 And because they turn their hearts aside,
saith the prophet, and have despised the Holy One of Israel, they shall wander in the
flesh, and perish, and become a hiss and a byword, and be hated among all nations.
15 Nevertheless, when that day cometh, saith the prophet, that they no
more turn aside their hearts against the Holy One of Israel, then will he remember the
covenants which he made to their fathers.
16 Yea, then will he remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all the
people who are of the house of Israel, will I gather in, saith the Lord, according to the
words of the prophet Zenos, from the four quarters of the earth.
17 Yea, and all the earth shall see the salvation of the Lord, saith the
prophet; every nation, kindred, tongue and people shall be blessed.
18 And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps
I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their Redeemer.
19 Wherefore, I speak unto all the house of Israel, if it so be that
they should obtain these things.
20 For behold, I have workings in the spirit, which doth weary me even
that all my joints are weak, for those who are at Jerusalem; for had not the Lord been
merciful, to show unto me concerning them, even as he had prophets of old, I should have
perished also.
21 And he surely did show unto the prophets of old all things concerning
them; and also he did show unto many concerning us; wherefore, it must needs be that we
know concerning them for they are written upon the plates of brass.
22Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my
brethren these things; And it came to pass that I did read many
things to them, which were engraven upon the plates of brass, that they might know
concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old.
The people of Jerusalem [5] will be persecuted, scattered, and hated by everyone because they crucified their God.
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah
19:824
23 And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books
of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer
I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all
scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.
24 Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of the prophet,
ye who are a remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who have been broken off; hear ye the
words of the prophet, which were written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto
yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been broken
off; for after this manner has the prophet written.
Now I'm going to read from the book of Isaiah. [
6]